You Shouldn't Start a Newsletter in 2024
If you want to start a newsletter and build an email list, better reconsider.
I’ve been using Substack for about 19 months now.
My goal was to grow beyond my daily blog Medium and finally build an email list.
I didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket.
Plus, I wanted to try another platform.
You might be thinking about building an email list or are already in the middle of kickstarting your newsletter.
However, some haters don’t want you to build your email list.
Here are some reasons.
❌“You’re wasting your time”
This is my fave.
“Are We Past Peak Newsletter?” asked the New York Times.
We’re not. You’re not wasting your time. Substack now has 3M paid subscribers. 3M people pay to get a newsletter of their favorite writer in their inbox.
We’re not past peak newsletter and this is the right time!
❌“You need to have a following first”
If you don’t know your audience and your niche you’ll fail.
You need to start writing on Medium, NewsBreak, Vocal or another publishing platform build an audience, and then start your email list.
WRONG!
You can start writing AND building an email list simultaneously
This way you don’t chase “followers” (vanity metric!) you also chase subscribers and track this metric which is super valuable as they are warm leads who one day could buy your products, and services or become paid subscribers.
❌“You need a niche”
Wrong!
You can start with a vague topic (e.g. happy and healthy living) and then become clear about your niche (e.g. Become a happy and healthy single mom).
You’ll find your focus while you build in public. If you create on Substack you build in public, not in a silo.
It’s the perfect place to find the sweet spot between what you want to write about and what your audience loves.
❌“You need to have a huge list to earn money”
I know list builders with 50 subscribers who earn 6 figures.
They offer super niche newsletters and services around it.
You don’t need a huge list to earn money. A small group of engaged “true fans” is valuable.
❌“You need to focus on one platform”
You often hear it.
The “shiny object syndrome” is a thing.
That’s why they say you need to laser-focus on one platform. Conquer it. Master it. Then play it and repurpose your content elsewhere or build on multiple platforms.
Not true!
If you conquer ONE platform you only know what’s interesting for people on this ONE platform.
I often hear from my students that they republish their Medium stories on another platform and take off.
If you’re struggling to grow your following on Medium for instance this doesn’t mean your writing isn’t helpful or valuable.
It simply means that Medium wants to make its members happy and these members aren’t interested in your content and probably won’t sustain you if you keep writing about your topic.
Don’t put all the eggs in one basket. Experiment with multiple platforms and create a marketing funnel, as I do.
❌“You need to learn to create a newsletter first”
Nope!
You can start and improve your writing later.
In addition, on Substack, you create a whole publication with a logo and wordmark. You can change the look and feel of your publication once you become clear about what it should be about.
✅Start yesterday
It’s hard to write online and earn money with your words.
An email list is the most valuable asset in your business.
Kickstart it the moment you start writing in public.
Start yesterday!
It’s the right time to build that email list.
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off (hoo-hoo-hoo)Taylor Swift
Watch this week’s mindset training
My video is already #2 out of 10 and has gotten 16 likes, so I think newer newsletter writers in particular can relate to it.
Create a “Substack-Medium Hybrid”
Substack is a breath of fresh air for me.
So stop the Medium vs. Substack slugfest.
It’s not an “either or”.
It’s an “and”.
Writing on Medium and Substack.
Both can be in one ecosystem.
Especially if you’re a part-time creator (with kids in the house) it’s smart
Inside my “Online Writing School,” I’ll show you how to combine writing on both platforms and republishing your content.
This week, I recorded the next modules for the Medium School and will add them next week.
So now is the perfect time to upgrade and become a 🔥“writers on fire” member!
As a 🔥“writers on fire” member, you also have access at the moment (this will change within the next months; so join today to be part of it!) to…
🔥book a 30-minute 1:1 coaching session with me for June (for writers who want to take Substack seriously and upgrade to an annual subscription)
🔥Interviews and exclusive live sessions with Substack Notes superstar and fiction writer David Mcllroy, top writer Ayo from Medium, NYT bestselling author Kirsten Powers, Top Freelance writer and coach Elna Cain, and Valentin Bunea (health and fitness writer with a family) with a purple badge (thousands of paid subscribers) on Substack and top 20 in the leaderboard on Substack.
🔥Medium School and Substack School: with exclusive video courses and tutorials
🔥Bonuses, resources
🔥Community access
🔥DMs
Let the haters hate.
I gained about 6,000 subscribers within 19 months and earned $1,200+ per month with my newsletter.
Thanks to my list I got offered sponsorships, brand deals, collabs, and many more awesome things that would never have happened without my list.
Do your thing!
Let no one stop you.
P.S. Liked it? Could you do me a favor and like and re-stack my post? This way you help a solo writing business owner to be seen and heard and help more people like you. Thanks so much!
P.S.S. More resources needed?
There is no either/or with Substack vs Medium. Like back in the days when the media asked if we should watch the TV series Dallas or Denver (colby Clan). Such a nonsense: Dallas was on Tuesdays and Denver Wednesdays. Since then my answer is always BOTH.
Love this advice, inclusive, accurate and correct on each point! Of course NYT would say that it's waste of our time, are they not losing readers when people choose to get news from Substack and other social media instead of NYT? One question I have is how to manage time, between content, building audience, maintaining community etc? Scheduling time to write, time to post/publish, time to connect with subscribers and followers? TIA